Are humans naturally monogamous creatures?

Question

Are humans naturally monogamous creatures?

Answer 1

No, humans are not naturally monogamous.  If we were, then there would not be so many cultures that believe in more than one mate, or that practice being with one and just one and then moving on to the next one and just that one...serial monogamy, I suppose, lol.  

To Stanziseyes:  Um, Swans are not the only monogamous birds.  Many birds have one life partner (some cheat quite a lot, too, but that is another story).  Penguins, for example, have one mate for life.  Eagles are another.  I can list more but then it would just be overkill.

Answer 2

Doubt it, but we are conditioned to be so.

But serial monogamy is catching on.

So what is monogamy? Preference for single partners or choice of single partners? I think both men and women will prefer multiple partners as long as we get what we want from it.

Answer 3

nope, we're curious to what's out there.

Answer 4

what i have always heard is that women are naturally monogamous while men tend to be naturally polygamous...so yes and no...i dont know how verifiable that theory is but it seems to be true when i take a look at most people's relationships...

Answer 5

I think that our high level of emotional self-understanding makes monogamy more important. For the socities we build and the importance we put on our own egos it seems that the security of being with one person forever prevents a lot of people from being depressed all the time.

Answer 6

I doubt that. If there's ever more of anything to be had out there (including partners), we will want to have it! If anything, I think it satisfies our competitive nature. The grass is always greener on the other side; we always have to "keep up with the Jones's" and we ALWAYS want what we cannot have.

Answer 7

No, it is why so many divorces and problems occur

Answer 8

We should be but we are also creatures that can be conditioned otherwise as I am sure some of your answers will prove.

Answer 9

Yes, actually.  Scientifically humans are monogamous, and swans, also.  They are the only bird that chooses one life partner.  It's very interesting.

Answer 10

Not at all! Our race has never been monogamous before the advent of religions... But it do have a logic in it, as a stable environment is better to raise and develop the intelligence of the child. So not sure we are not evolving toward this, as our babies are getting more and more helpless at birth due to the limit the skull can grow (brain development) inside the womb and get out...

Answer 11

Looking at this from strictly a biological/Darwinian perspective, the goal of relationships is mating so as to pass on one's genes and create the next generation.  For males, it is ideal to impregnate as many females as possible.  The more offspring he creates, the more his genes are being passed on.  Once the baby is born, it requires care.  From a biological standpoint, females benefit from monogamy because they will have a male figure that will help raise the child and help insure that the child will live to maturity.

Answer 12

That's probably a cultural variable, with serial monogamy possibly being the average or most commonly practiced.

Answer 13

Doubtful. How would we have reproduced in the first place?

Answer 14

No, most ancient societies had royals that got to breed with the lions share of the most fine females.  They were like alpha alpha males when compared to wolves.  Monogamy is something invented in the last couple of thousand years.

Answer 15

No. before religion, humans moved about alot. That was how the world populated in the beginning

Answer 16

NO, but for thousands of years we have been building better societies by denying our biological urges.

monogamy is just a static latch to a solid society.

(have you seen how screwed up the newage sexual revolutionaries got trying to build societies based on sharing partners freely? Not well!  )

Buff.

Answer 17

On a biological level yes they are. Only one sperm is sufficient to fertilize the egg.But on a social level it may vary. While Western marriage is monogamous many tribes in South America  and New Guinea practices partible paternity. In those societies a child has more than one father. For example; The Canela of Amazonia calls them contributing fathers. Each man has responsibilities for the child like any other western father. We can't assume monogamy is universal and a natural state for humans.The ethnographic data proves that in order to survive in a specific environment every society uses different methods.Those methods might be physical or social. In this case it is social. In the forest having more fathers is advantages whereas in the city people adopted monogamy (even though they don't practice it well!). I think Monogamy is culturally relative.

Answer 18

As in by nature? I doubt it.

But I think that society conditions us (and rightfully so, in my view) to be monogamous.

Answer 19

The only "real" yardstick (outside of theology) that seems relevant in trying to answer this question is how prevalent "monogamy" is among other primates...

The answer is "not very", and that can even be extended to most mammals...